(Author’s note, added 5/28: I found that I have completely misread the labels on NMN and Resveratrol. I’ve been taking 450mg per day rather than 900mg because a serving is two capsules and not one. I am taking 1000mg per day of “resveratrol powder” which is only 8% active rather than pure resveratrol, so it is the equivalent of 80mg. I found this out about 2/3 of the way through the project, but I believe the levels were sufficient to make a difference, so this is not too bad. I will be changing out for Phase II of the project).
I’ve been taking NMN now for about a year now. When I first started, I did some very unscientific tests. I have a path that I was doing walking/running, pushing myself as hard as I can. An approximate measure in my car is about four and a half miles.
I took some averages of the time it took before I started on NMN and then some averages afterwords. The slogs were far enough apart (2 to 3 weeks –told you earlier I wasn’t very disciplined…) that there was no buildup from previous tries. I found that the time it took me to slog through that course fell from about 55 minutes to about 48 minutes.
That is substantial, setting aside, of course, that there were a lot of uncontrolled factors like weather, sleep I got the night before and enthusiasm to test something new, that might have clouded the results. I believed it, so I’ve been taking it ever since. I even shipped some to my dad.
So I have exactly one real data point (except for the oddity that regular vitamins make my fingernails grow) to show me that supplements might work for me personally. For this project, I chose specifically supplements that are backed by studies published in scientific journals.
Here is my list.
NMN – I’m currently taking 750 mg per day, and will move up slightly to 900 mg per day. This was my first supplement, and did not believe the hype until I came across a mouse study showing results of at least 20% extended lifetime and the energy equivalent of a much younger mouse.
Here is a bit of the research. I paid to download the complete study and have been through it extensively (the image of the first page is here, but I don’t want to violate copyrights, you will have to buy it yourself…). The results are compelling, so NMN is kind of the anchor for the project. So here is some data to check out:
Time-Lapse Video of the Exercise Capacity of 20-Month-Old Vehicle and NMN-Treated Mice in a Treadmill Test. [Video of mice] https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0092867418301521-mmc7.mp4
Resveratrol – I will be taking 1000mg per day of this. It encourages sertain Sirtuins which are, like NMN, a precursor to building NAD+.
To be frank, I was going to skip this. My perception (or misperception) was that Resveratrol was an anti-oxidant (to save cells), and since I was going to be oxidizing the hell out of myself with the hyperbaric chamber (to kill off senescent cells), they could be working at cross purposes. I have no idea if this is a valid set of logic.
Two factors changed my mind. The first is that Dr. Sinclair (David Sinclair, Harvard, famous for anti-aging and looks like he is 20 years younger than he is) uses it. The second is that the research I’ve found says that Resveratrol encourages Sirtuin which is one of the precursors to NAD+. And my goal is more NAD+ leading to younger cells.
Here are some pointers to that research.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2451830120300194
Apigenin – I’ve only come across this recently, but the research seems pretty clear to me. Apigenin suppresses a protein called CD-38. CD-38 is a regulator for the production of NAD+, and it has been demonstrated that the production of NAD+ is increased as CD-38 decreases. It is kind of like in basketball where a player “picks” another player to allow a shooter to go free and get a better shot. Apigenin is a “pick” that allows NMN and Resveratrol to get a better shot.
Here are some pointers to research.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiU_dh9jjNA
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2809371/
And this is where I went nuts! Yes, you can buy Apigenin on Amazon, but I read somewhere that it tends to degrade quickly (no real confirmation if that is true or not…). The best source of Apigenin is…wait for it… fresh parsley. Parsley blows all of the other sources out of the water.
So with a bit of research, I decided that I could make my own Apigenin capsules from dried, ground parsley. I bought a capsule stuffer, a dryer, a grinder and some fresh parsley. I only need to take one capsule per day to reach my dose of 100mg per day.
Why not more? I read that Apigenin in higher doses is used to control anxiety and is sometimes used as a sedative. I’ve been through too much shit to get anxious about anything (story for another day…) and I don’t need to be napping at my desk at work.
Fisetin – Mouse studies abound with Fisetin, showing an increase in longevity of about 20% with mice. This substance has been found to cause senescent cells to die and get flushed, making way for newer better cells to propagate.
I read that Fisetin has low bioavailability and that it sometimes interferes with workouts. This does make some sense.
So I have decided that I will take this at a high dose, but only once per week. High does in this case means 3500 mg. Hope I don’t die…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3689181/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197652/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30279143/
Vitamins – OK, I am likely to need some vitamins, I have picked the One-a-Day men’s gummies. I know almost nothing about vitamins, and have no insights yet into what I might need (information may be coming soon, with the test and an upcoming check-up with my doctor), so I’ve decided to trust Big Pharma to provide a good set. With the heavy lifting off my shoulders, my criterion has fallen to “they taste good”. And before you bring it up, no, I’m not even going to count the calories for the sugar that is in them.
White Tea cream – I decided that I needed to try one or two cosmetic things. A study I found said that White Tea had the highest activity against both elastase and collagenase and another study said that over a few weeks, creams based on white tea improved some characteristics of skin by many percentage points.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2728709/
I’ll apply this every night before going to bed. If it turns out to be messy, it may also serve to scare off any burglars I happen to encounter in the night!
Not sure what other cosmetic thing I will do. I may have a bit too much gray in my hair. But I’m a bit gun-shy on dying my hair, since my ex-brother-in-law, a professional dancer, dyed his hair black for a ballroom competition. You don’t know how ridiculous that looked, it was really, really bad! I don’t think I need a facelift, but I could probably use a tan. Maybe I’ll spend some time at the beach. Or a tanning salon. Does anyone have discounts on a tanning salon? Free mention in these articles for free tanning!
And so you know I haven’t lost focus, naturally, these supplements will provide a major advantage when I fight Andre Arlovsky (see previous articles).
I will be so strong he won’t know what hit him! And in the unlikely event that he beats me, I will still look great!
Hear that Andre? I’m coming for you!!